Website Development

Choosing Your Website Development Option
Truepath’s website template program makes it easy for Truepath hosting subscribers to get a professional looking website with minimal effort.  Truepath offers several website development solutions.  Choosing the right one depends on your website requirements, skill-level, and budget.  Truepath offers 3 solutions to choose from:

• Site Studio
• HTML Website Templates
• Joomla CMS (Content Management System) Platform

Site Studio:
The simplest option, Site Studio, is a server-based program that all Truepath hosting subscribers have access to.  It offers basic website templates and editing functionality for the ‘Do-It-Yourselfer’ (DIY)  – a perfect solution for simple websites with basic functionality.  No HTML skill is required.  However, its simplicity means that it may lack more advanced functions.  To see a list of available templates in Site Studio, click here.

HTML Website Templates:
It is not uncommon for Truepath hosting subscribers to outgrow Site Studio’s limited functionality.  For this reason, Truepath offers more than 100 free website templates which include high-quality Christian graphics.  Each template includes an index page, a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) file and images used in the template.  All files are placed in a single .zip file so Truepath can email all of the files directly to you.

These templates are well designed and may be modified to suit the most demanding website requirement.  For simple template and content edits, such as:

• Changing company name and tagline
• Adding/deleting/modifying a header image
• Adding/deleting/modifying menu items and page content

…webmasters should have a basic knowledge of HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).  An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client, like FileZilla (free), is also helpful.  Our Webmaster Help section can guide you through these basic tasks.

More complex edits and additions may require more advanced skills.  Whether these edits and additions are simple or advanced, Truepath hosting subscribers have access to Truepath webmasters.  Our rates start at $20 per 15 minutes of HTML and CSS editing.

If you would like a more customized look to your template, Truepath can offer a template design that better matches your needs.  Our customized template program includes a web meeting so you can pick the options and features you want for $89.00.  You can view a complete list of customized template features here or download the PDF version.

Joomla CMS Platform:
The third website development option is a Joomla CMS platform.  Joomla websites are more difficult to set up but have the advantage of “front end” content editing.  Website owners may access a content editing screen from within their Internet browser, which is similar to MS Word.  With basic Word-like editing skills, owners can make content changes and additions instantly.  Click on the image to the right for a larger view or watch the video.

Due to Joomla’s set-up complexity, Truepath offers several services to help the ‘Do-It-Yourselfer.'  Our Joomla Installation and basic configuration program is designed to help you set up the Joomla hosting environment.  Users are still responsible for configuring Joomla to work with their template.

Our Website page configuration option focuses on installing your Truepath Joomla template, adding menu items, and setting up a standard Contact Us form.  The only thing you need to do is add your page content.

But there is still more that must be done before a website is ready for the public.

• Firstly, all content that appears in articles and side-columns must be written by the DIY Webmaster. Images must be uploaded to the server and positioned around the text.
• Secondly, modules that appear in the columns need to be added and configured.
• Thirdly, special template tweaks may be required to get the website with just the right look.
• And lastly, additional extensions such as calendars, photo galleries, sermon mp3 library, etc. need to be installed and configured. All in all, these steps, depending on their complexity, can add many hours for the experienced Webmaster.

For the DIY that has no previous experience with Joomla, we strongly suggest dedicating time and getting familiar with the contents of the Absolute Beginner's Guide to Joomla!. The Joomla! v 1.5 Quick Start Guide should be your first read. This 49 page PDF document offers a quick overview of how Joomla works and what you can expect.

If all this seems a bit overwhelming, don’t feel alone. There is a lot to know about Joomla. Don’t expect that you will be an expert in a few hours. Truepath is here to help. If you need a helping hand, we can either train you or perform the webmastering work for you. In either case, our rates are $80.00 per hour / $20.00 per 15 minutes.

For those who prefer using Truepath as their webmaster, we offer a Joomla website leasing program.  We will handle all the technical aspects of launching and maintaining your Joomla website.  Every 3 months, you accrue more webmaster hours that may be applied to any webmaster activity like menu or template changes.  And you may expand your website with hundreds of Joomla extensions.  Your only responsibility is to manage your content through Joomla’s 'front end' editor.  Lease options are available for 5, 10, 15 and 25-page websites.

Lease Option - Includes:

• Installation and basic configuration (see above)
• Website page configuration (see above)
• Webmaster support accrued every 3 months

5-pg website (max) with 4hrs/yr webmaster support ................................. $39/month or $439/yr.
10-pg website (max) with 5hrs/yr webmaster support ............................... $49/month or $539/yr.
15-pg website (max) with 6hrs/yr webmaster support ............................... $59/month or $649/yr.
25-pg website (max) with 10hrs/yr webmaster support ............................. $79/month or $849/yr.

Ordering Your Website Development Option
Truepath makes it easy to order your template and webmastering service.  Simply use the form that is available in the PDF version of the program and fax the completed form to Truepath Customer Support: (760) 480-8271.  Make sure your fax includes all 3 pages marked as Appendix A and includes your signature.  OR, use the online form for your convenience.

After receiving the order form, Truepath may, depending on the service ordered, request additional information.